1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication equipment and, more specifically, to home phone-line networking (HPN).
2. Description of the Related Art
HPN networking is a segment of the networking marketplace that is relatively new. In 1998, the computer and semiconductor industries created the Home Phone-Line Networking Alliance (HPNA) to select, promote, and standardize technologies for HPN. The HPNA has introduced two generations of HPN technology (HPNA 1.0 and 2.0) that are well-suited for the interconnection of broad-band voice, video, and data and/or internet, peripheral, and file sharing within a home. The HPNA is cunently working on a third-generation technology.
HPN signals are imposed on the existing telephone wiring inside a home or office to implement a local communication network between HPN terminals, such as computers, peripherals, and internet appliances. However, one challenge of HPN networking is that the same physical medium, e.g., the existing copper plant, is shared with other services, such as, telephones, answering machines, FAX machines, and modems. In addition, networking over the existing infrastructure may suffer from various impairments, such as signal attenuation, e.g., due to line attenuation and/or the lack of proper termination, and crosstalk from neighboring networks. Furthermore, the characteristics (e.g., impedance) of the infrastructure may change randomly when, e.g., a telephone goes off-hook or an additional device is introduced into the network or is taken “off-hook”.